Books

MATT’S LATEST

A Manual for Practicing and Teaching Meditation: Wisdom from Saints of East and West

When we meditate, we are following in the footsteps of Jesus, who had a deep spiritual life and meditation practice. Jesus spent entire nights in prayer and meditation with God.

In meditation, we drink from the vine of Spirit, taste from the river of Life, and are nourished by a fountain that never runs dry. The paradox is: we don’t just meditate for ourselves. We meditate for the world. We receive, in order that we might give from a place of spiritual fullness, an overflowing cup.

There are lot of practices that you can do, and meditation is not for everyone. Don’t start meditating because it’s what your spouse, friend, or even your Pastor wants you to do. Do it because it is the spiritual discipline saving your life right now, bringing you joy, peace, and spiritual radiance to share with others.

In the words of Asha Nayaswami, ‘This is a uniquely comprehensive, well documented, training manual based on both extensive scholarship, resources from many spiritual traditions, and inner awakening. It is a manual that can be easily and effectively followed by those of any spiritual orientation who wish to experience for themselves the thrilling promise of every scripture and every religion. To fulfill the divine promise: “Be still and know that I am God.”’

How much do you want to meditate? Many distractions can and will divert you from your single-hearted desire to know God. Yet if you hold the desire, tools and teachers await you.

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Giving Christianity Back to Agape Love: A New Paradigm for Being Church Together

Matt’s first book, “Giving Christianity Back to Agape Love: A New Paradigm for Being Church Together” was published in 2022.

How could a church that has been plagued by anti-Semitism, the killing of the Crusades, and the violence of the Inquisition (just to name a few) be redeemed of these evils?  Quite simply, it has always returned to Jesus.  When you return to Jesus, you return to the heart of his message: agape.  Agape is a Greek word in the New Testament referring to a love that is without limits and beyond conditions.  Agape is the love that God has for us, and that we are called to have towards one another.

This book centers around this one assumption: God loves us unconditionally.  Our task- individually and as communities- is to be instruments of that love.  This book reenvisions traditional Christian beliefs- including sin, the Bible, salvation, homosexuality, pluralism, Jesus, and atonement theology- through the lens of agape love.  What would the Christian life look like if we embodied the good news in community as contemplatives in action?

In a time when churches are dying and failing, giving Christianity back to agape love has the power to bring life into a religion that feels old, worn out, and over-institutionalized.  To return Christianity to Jesus is to give the church universal back to a love that is boundless, free, and unconditional; to a love that finds its heart in service, peacemaking, and radical transformation; to a love that will set the world on fire.

Buy on Liferich PublishingBuy on Amazon

In the Media

See author Matt Carriker speak about Giving Christianity Back to Agape Love in the Belize media:

Channel 5 Belize News clip January 12 2023 (3 min)
Belize LOVE FM Jan 9th 2023 morning show (25 min)
Channel 7 Belize Sunup Morning Show January 10 2023 (15 min)
Channel 5 Belize Open Your Eyes Morning Show January 12 2023 (22 min)

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